Everyday Items That Are Dirtier Than You Could Ever Imagine

So many germs are lurking in plain sight!

Germs. You can’t see them and they’re everywhere. While you need some “good bacteria” in your life (take probiotics in yogurt, for example), being exposed to too many “bad bacteria” can impact your health. The Global Hygiene Council reports that one in 10 people don’t wash their hands after they use the restroom, and more than half of people working with raw meat don’t wash their hands afterward. Ick!

“Germs follow us around all day,” says Professor Charles P. Gerba at the University of Arizona. “They are opportunists.” With today’s modern medicine, shouldn’t germs and infectious diseases be at an all-time low?

Unfortunately, as much as you clean your home and wash your hands, you can’t avoid touching something that someone else with poor hygiene has touched, too. Here are 31 of the most germ-infested, everyday items. Read the list and keep in mind you may want to be extra vigilant about washing your hands after touching these!

1. The Bottom Of Your Purse

A study commissioned by a U.K. hygiene company found that the average purse carries more germs than a toilet handle. Even grosser, an estimated one-third of purses have fecal matter on them. Consider that your reminder to use the hook in public restrooms instead of setting your handbag on the bathroom floor.

2. The Carpet In Your Home

3. A Cutting Board

Think twice before cutting up raw chicken on a cutting board that you use for slicing fruit and dicing tomatoes. Cutting boards can be a host of foodborne illnesses. Plastic may be easier to clean than wood, but it has lots of grooves where germs can hide out.

Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar are two natural ways to sanitize a wood cleaning board, whereas you can drop the plastic versions into the dishwasher.

5. Faucets And Handles

Faucet handles are some of the germiest places in your home. Mold, bacteria and even staph has been found lurking on faucets and handles. It makes sense, since you have to touch the handles before cleaning your hands. A daily or weekly wipe down with a disinfectant solution should help you keep this area under control.

6. Refrigerator Handles

7. Clean Laundry

Even clean clothes are a host for bacteria. A study found that even clean underwear has, on average, 0.1 grams of feces, so make sure you’re washing your laundry in hot water that’s at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

12. Microwave Handles

Microwave handles can be a host for germs. This is especially true for office microwaves, which a University of Arizona study pinpointed as one of the dirtiest places in workplace kitchens and break rooms.

14. Computer Keyboards

15. Parking Meters

About 40 percent of parking meters that were swabbed were found to have high levels of germs, according to a report. And after you park, watch out for the buttons at crosswalk signals. About 35 percent of crosswalk buttons in the study were covered in germs.

16. Vending Machine Buttons And Door

The same study as the one about parking meters found that 35 percent of vending machines had a high level of germs. So it’s best to wash your hands before eating your snack or twisting open a soda cap.

18. A Pet’s Food Dish

Pet bowls were the fourth-germiest places in homes, according to one report, landing just below kitchen sponges and dish rags, the kitchen sink and toothbrush holders. Pet bowls should be washed daily with hot, soapy water.

22. Pet Toys

23. Your Kitchen Sink

The second-highest concentration of germs in the home is found in the kitchen sink, second only to those germ-infested dish sponges! To keep the germs at bay, wash your sink at least once or twice a week with a disinfectant.

24. The Inside Latch Of A Public Restroom

25. Shopping Carts

It’s a good idea to use a sanitizer wipe to swab your cart before shopping. Some stores offer them near the rack of shopping carts. A majority of carts are contaminated with bacteria, and some carry E. coli and fecal matter.

27. Money

28. Drinking Fountains

E. coli and coliform are among the bacteria types found in drinking fountains. It’s not surprising, given how many hands are touching the fountain buttons. But one study found that dog bowls are actually cleaner than drinking fountains.

29. Playground Equipment

30. A Car’s Gear Shift

It’s a good idea to wash your car’s interior in addition to its exterior. British microbiologists in one study found 285 types of bacteria per square inch in the interior of cars, with the gear shift being a common host.